EVERY HEART A DOORWAY -- POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE #6

image from Goodreads

What would you do if you found a door that didn't belong? Would you go through it? What if you came back but were irreparably changed?

I chose this book for the Popsugar Reading Challenge number 6: A book with a plant in the title or on the cover.  The cover has a forest of trees on it.

This is the premise behind Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire.  Kids are pulled through doorways to different worlds. Many don't return, but sometimes they come back.  These kids are given a chance to acclimatize back to our world with the help of Eleanor West and her school.

Nancy is the main character in this book, but she has changed since her experience in one of the Underworlds. Her parents send her to Eleanor's school to get 'better'. Here she finds she can be her new self but always hoping she can find the door back to her new home.

She is surrounded by a plethora of other characters that have had similar experiences like hers just in different worlds. Each have their problems.

It also becomes a bit of a murder mystery. It's not a super duper complicated, but it does give a bit of extra spice to the story line.

I read this book in two hours. I recommend it for those that like magical realism and fantasy as well as a bit of darkness.

I would love to see Nancy's world.  If you could go anywhere through a doorway, what kind of world you would wand to find?

FULL METAL ALCHEMIST IS LIVE!

I just found the live action Fullmetal Alchemist movie on Netflix!!

So watching it as I type!

For those who do not know, FMA was created as an anime in the late 90s as well as a remake called FMA Brotherhood in the 2000s.  It was based on the manga of the same name.

There are anime movies as well as ovas for each series.

This has been on my watch list since the news of its production was released.

If it is as awesome as I hope, this will be a preorder.

Already two things I know will happen that will destroy me.  All I will say is Hughes and Shou Tucker.  Those that have seen the anime will know and those who haven't will not be spoiled.

I will now go hide with my tissues and blankie waiting to bawl my eyes out without regret or remorse.

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Tomoe, Takigawa Houshou #atozchallenge

Who wouldn't want a beautiful fox demon as your servant? A handsome and powerful fox that caters to your every whim.  In Kamisama Kiss, Tomoe was once a wild fox that became a familiar to Mikage, the Land God.

But that is not where the story begins. It begins with a homeless girl receiving the powers from Mikage (mee-kah-jay) and the chaos that ensues from a mortal becoming a land God.  Tomoe (toe-moe-ay) hates the thought of a human at the shrine but Nanami (nah-nah-mee) takes no bull and forced him back into servitude with a kiss.

The rest of the series has a bit of a reverse haremish group of gorgeous and handsome demons with a back story of hundreds of years and a complex timeline I will not even try to explain. There are misadventures with gods, sea creatures, tengu, and other various immortal beings.

Tomoe has the ability to come off as hateful and cold, arrogant, prideful, and elegant, but he has his moments of childish jealousy and other moments where you can see the hurt, vulnerability, and soft heart he hides away from prying eyes.

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Takigawa Houshou is the guitar-wielding monk of Ghost Hunt. He left his temple home to be a bassist in a band before going back to become a full time monk.  He uses his spiritual powers as a side gig to help people.

Characterwise, he is laid back but can be serious when needed.

We first meet him as he was hired by Mai's school to exorcise the spirits along with Naru, Lin, Ayako, Masako, Father John Brown. He becomes one of the regulars of SPR (Shibuya Pyschic Research.

As a monk, he is strong and can lead the group when Naru is incapacitated. 

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Lin Koujo, L, Light Yagami, Loke #atozchallenge

What can I say about my first L listing? He is an onmyōji with five shiki (spirits or demons that are linked to him by magic and are his servants). He works for a seventeen-year-old as both guardian and assistant. He is Chinese.  His name is Lin Koujo from the Anime Ghost Hunt.

Quiet and taciturn, he is the one who stays up at night to monitor the computers and cameras when out on a ghost hunting case.  He doesn't like the Japanese because of personal reasons.

He is a powerful Onmyōdō practitioner who can summon a spirit to answer questions or protect using his shiki.

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Loke is a member of Fairy Tail. He is the ladies man, but he has a problem with Lucy at first, which is strange to the other members since she is beautiful. His past is mysterious and he's an enigma.

  He suddenly leaves the guild and says goodbye to Lucy, she at first thinks it's a line, but then realizes that he was telling the truth.  When she finds out what he is and his punishment for it, her determination saves his life.

  Loke is Leo one of the Zodiac Celestial Beings.  He stopped his wizard from summoning her other celestial beings because she mistreated them.  She died as a result. He forms a contract with Lucy.

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Light Yagami and L are the Yin and Yang of Death Note.  Light becomes Kira, one who brings justice to the world with his Death Note. L is the genius detective wanting to stop him.

Light and L dance around each other in this dark death match. One a high school student the other an eccentric who eats sweets and constantly looks like he's been on a three day bender.

This duel between them goes on back and forth for much of the show and manga. It ends as one could expect, one dies and the other continues on with his mission.

(And y'all were thinking I was going to actually say who wins. Nope. For those who have seen it know, and for those who haven't, well, I left that as a surprise.)

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Hisoka, Hatori Sohma, Hades #atozchallenge

In Kamigami no Asobi, Yui gets transported to a a school where she is forced to help Gods become more sympathetic to humans and to learn from her.

The Gods (also forced to be there) have their powers imprisoned so they are near human weak. Hades shackle is a pewter necklace with a skull and a ruby hanging from it.

 One of those Gods is Hades Aidoneus.  He is the most aloof and antisocial of the the Gods. He fears the curse that causes misfortune to those close to him. He warms to Yui when she shows him that she doesn't care about the curse.

He loves gazing at the stars through a telescope, and more than one scene in the anime has Yui finding him atop a hill by himself.

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One of my most favorite sociopaths of the anime worlds comes from the Hunter X Hunter.
He is, of course, Hisoka Morow. You first meet him at the Hunter's Exam. Right off the bat, you find out that he killed an instructor during the last exam and was disqualified.

He has an insatiable need to find the strongest people to fight and gets aroused by it. He takes a liking to Gon (for his potential) and wants him as his prey.

He has no qualms about getting hurt and has literally had his arms cut off during a fight, but his use of his Nen powers Bungee Gum and Texture Surprise hid this fact from his opponent.

He is amoral, unpredictable, and an murdrous bloodlust that wants victims he deems 'unworthy'.

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Hatori Sohma, the cursed doctor of Fruits Basket. This is a comedic reverse harem (one girl all guys) with serious moments. He is the dragon of the Chinese Zodiac cursed Sohmas. He turns into a sea horse whenever the opposite sex touches them.

He is blind in one eye from when their 'God' Akito attacked him when he asked for permission to marry. Finally, the horror of the memory became too much for Kana, and he used his powers to take the memory from her.

He comes off as cold and unfeeling, but he is very reserved even with closest friends/cousins Ayame and Shigore.

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Elias Ainsworth, Ezra Scarlet, Elaine, Elizabeth #atozchallenge

Elias Ainsworth is from the Anime prequel and the anime forthcoming in October, The Ancient Magus's Bride.    He is both fae and human. He has no concept of human emotion but tries to learn from his bought-at-auction apprentice, Chise.

Chise gave herself over to being sold after the horrors of her childhood. Her self esteem was nonexistent until Elias gave her a reason to live again.

He wants her as his bride.  She wants to learn to magic.  They are both wounded individuals that find solace in each other as they learn from each other.

His past is a mystery, but there are hints in the manga that he was once a man-eater before he was found by his master.

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Ezra Scarlet the Anime  Fairy Tail. She is one of the most powerful wizards in the Fairy Tail Guild.  She has a tendency to be a disciplinarian while being over-the-top herself.

Her abilities include Requip, which means she has the ability to requip her armor and weaponry with a flash of magic.

Along with Natsu, Grey, and Lucy, they travel Fiore, one of the many kingdoms of Earth Land, which is the setting of Fairy Tail.

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We can't have an E catagory without the characters of Elaine and Elizabeth from Seven Deadly Sins.  They are both strong women.

 Elaine is the sister of Harlequin, King of fairies.  He left the Fairy King's Forest to go after his friend.  Elaine was left to protect the Forest and the Fountain of Youth from invaders and thieves.

She falls in love with Ban when he comes to take the Fountain of Youth. He too falls for her and promises to find her brother so that they could travel lands together.  But it was not meant to be. A demon comes and she sacrifices her life to save Ban by giving him the waters from the Fountain.

When the Sins visit the Capitol of the Dead, Ban finds the spirit of Elaine and reunites with her.  King, the Grizzly's Sin of Sloth, is also her brother Harlequin, who thinks Ban killed her for the Fountain. Elaine admonishes him for leaving the forest and hurting Ban.

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Elizabeth Liones is the kindhearted third daughter of the King of Liones.
 Although not bloodkin, she is treated as such.  When her kingdome is threatened by the Holy Knights sworn to protect it, she has no choice but to find those that can stop it.

She travels the land searching for the Seven Deadly Sins, former Holy Knights said to have committed treason by killing the leader of the Holy Knights. When she comes to the Boar Hat, she discovers that the tavern keeper is the the captain of the Sins, Meliodas.

Frankly, I don't know how she puts up with Meliodas' harrassment without slugging him in the face with a morning star, but she does.

Despite her coming across as a weak coward, she has more guts than meets the eye and more fight than many of of the 'strong' characters.

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Alucard, Asuna Yūki, and Allen Schezar #atozchallenge

 As an Anime fan, I find that different characters are essential.  Also, I like different genres.  These three characters are different as night and day as well as the anime genres.

Escaflowne (es-cah-flow-nay) is from the 90s. It's about a girl from our world that gets transported to Gaea (guy-yah), a world of dragons, humanoid species, and mechas called Guymelefs (guy-mel-ef).

Allen Schezar is a gentleman with great secrets as well as a soft spot for protecting the "damsel in distress." He is also a ladies man as he sort of hits on the female main character, Hitomi.

He is one of the Knights of Caeli, an elite group of swordsmen from Asturia. His past is checkered with bitterness and death stemming from his father's fascination with the Mystic Valley and Atlantis.

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Asuna Yūki comes from the Anime Sword Art Online.  It takes place in near-future Japan where full-dive virtual reality is possible.  The game, Sword Art Online (SAO), premieres as the first VRMMORPG of its kind. 10,000 players enter the game world of Aincrad (eye,n-krad) on the first day.  Soon they discover they are trapped and that if they die in-game they die in real life.

Asuna is not a damsel. She is (excuse the cursing) a bad ass bitch with a blade.  She becomes one of the strongest players in the game and in her guild Knights of the Blood.  Her moniker is "Lightning Flash" because she wields her rapier in a swift and deadly fashion.

As the game progresses, her softer side is shown when she and Kirito form a relationship and adopt an NPC AI called Yui.

💀💀💀💀💀💀

Alucard has been one of my absolute favorite characters since I first watched Hellsing. This anime is a strange combination of Horror and Comedy. It comes in two incarnations Hellsing and the newer Hellsing Ultimate.

There is no way to describe him other than he's crazy as all eff, seriously deranged, and psychotic to boot.  He has a tendency to go overboard on his enemies in a fight.

As an ageless creature, Alucard is the ultimate vampire. He is all powerful and very bored.  His ennui leads him to turn Seras Victoria, a police woman, into a vampire.

He works for Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, a woman that takes no sh*t from anyone but deals a great deal onto her enemies. She runs the Hellsing Organization, which is responsible to protect England from vampires bent on destruction.

His archenemy is the Paladin Alexander Anderson who works for Iscariot (Vatican Section XIII) a top secret section of the Vatican.  He is as insane as Alucard.

A to Z Challenge -- Q -- CARDINAL, QUESTIONS, AND CASTING

QUARTERS -- Calling the Quarters, Guardians, Guardians of the Watchtowers, or whatever title they are given are used when casting a circle. Depending on the belief, they are the cardinal directions, directions and elements, elementals, protective spirits (hence Guardians), some have the elements separate from the Guardians or the Guardians add their elemental power to the circle. 

 Whether They are evoked, invoked, or convoked, it is the rule of thumb not to call forth something that is not understood fully.  

Usually the elemental energy is used to enhance the magic performed in the circle.

QUERENT -- In a tarot reading, this is the person who is getting the the reading. Can also be called the Seeker.  The querent will have a specific tarot card that represents him/her in the spread (the layout of the cards), which is called the Signifier or Significator.




Disclaimer: None of these pictures belong to me.  I found them on Google.

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #8 -- A BOOK BASED ENTIRELY ON ITS COVER

It's so hard for me to pick up a book and not read the inner jacket.  It's nearly impossible.  After that initial love-fest with the cover, I have to see what a book is about.  Only I finally did it.  The book was called Beastkeeper.

As you can tell by the cover, it's stunning orange and black silhouette style draws the eye.  Then the white accents pulls the eye deeper into it and then you notice the intricate details throughout.

The story was good.  It was a interesting fairy tale.  I won't share any details about it.  Sorry.

A to Z Challenge -- H -- CORD, HUNT, AND CROSSROADS

HANDFASTING -- A traditional trial marriage or engagement ceremony dating back to the ancient Celts.  Some believe that it lasted a 'year and a day'.  After the predetermined time, the couple could separate in a handparting, if they wished, or make the match permanent.  

The couple's hands were tied by a cord to symbolize their unity.  Many modern couples use the cord to signify what they wish from the relationship and to reflect their vows.  Colors like red, pink, and green are used to represent passion, love, and fertility respectively in the cord.    

Now, a handfasting is more akin to a wedding in truth. 

HAWTHORN --  One of the sacred trees.  It is one of the triumvirate of trees said to be the gateway to the fae land or to see fairies; Oak, Ash, and Thorn.

Hawthorns legends have that fairy live within them and that to cut one down was bad luck.

Parts of the tree were used as medicinal and edible substances, including the leaves and berries.

Magically, the hawthorn is used as protection and banishing evil spirits.  It's used to draw luck into your home at the new year.

Beltane and May Day are two of the prevalent celebrations where hawthorn is used.

The Greeks and Romans also used hawthorn in rites of marriage and as protection of virgin purity.

HECATE -- (Pronounced hek-uh-tee, also Hekate)  Let's just say She is one powerful goddess and is associated with many, many different things.  She is the 'Queen of Ghosts'; goddess of the cross roads, sorcery, childbirth, witchcraft, and others.  She is associated with the dark of the moon.

Pre-Olympian, Hecate came from Thrace and maybe even Egypt.  In the pantheon of Greek Gods, She was powerful in her own right.  Zeus gave her unprecedented powers to give and take away from mankind as she saw fit.  No other had that kind of power besides him.  She also had access to all three realms, Heavens, Earth, and Underworld.

Hecate's appearance has changed as time and cultures adopted her.  She went from young maiden (her associations to them) to the haggard crone (Medieval Church demonization).  Her statues were sometimes depicted with three heads as to signify she was ever vigilant.

Her origins are all over the place, depending on which place it was associated.  Some called her one of the last Titans, others had her as a Fury.

 At three-way crossroads, travelers traveling at night would leave offerings to her shrines for safe passage.  Hecate Trivia (Roman tri-via) was celebrated on November 30th.

Herne the Hunter

HORNED GOD --  This is an archetype to represent the God's masculine energy.

Cerunnos is one such version of this god; only he is antlered not horned.  Many times depicted surrounded by animals, he is assumed to be the Lord of Forest and Wild Things.

Herne the Hunter is another and could be considered one version of Cerunnos.  He may be a different god altogether. He is the leader of the Wild Hunt in some of the legends.  Herne may have been heavily influenced by the Anglo-Saxon.



Disclaimer: None of these pictures belong to me.  I found them on Google.

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #1 AND #2 -- GRAPHIC NOVEL AND COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

MeruPuri: Märchen Prince by Matsuri Hino

Meru Puri is a fun little quartet of manga.  It's about a normal girl, obsessed with a romantinc TV show, that finds out that love is more than what her naive plans think.  

Airi Hoshino meets Aram when he magically appears through a mirror.  She doesn't know that her life will soon be entangled in his.

Aram is on the run from his older brother who tried to curse him.  He seeks refuge from his world in Airi's home.  

It's one misadventure after another as Airi and Aram trek through a mire of court intrigue, their feelings, and a host of slightly psychotic characters.  

This is a collections of short stories by Patricia Wrede the author of many wonderful tales.  It has a couple of short stories that go along with the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.  It also has a great chocolate cake recipe that has hilarious instructions.  I mean how can you go wrong with a name like Quick After-the-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake.  

There are also other diverse tales like one that is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty and an urban fantasy one that has the girl trying to choose her own destiny.